Barber Shops Were Busy Businesses

Hart's Barber Shop on East Main St. was a busy place in 1953.
Notice the shoe shine stand in the back left.

Like drug stores and cafes, barber shops and beauty shops were important businesses in mid-20^th century downtowns across America.  People were able to take care of their shopping, banking, and other needs with a weekly visit to town. 

As early as 1904 the Aethelwold Hotel in downtown Brevard had a barber for businessmen and travelers.  Early barber shops also offered shaves, baths, and shoe shines.

The Simpson brothers operated a barber shop
from the late 1920s intl the 1940s.

John W. Smith was a barber for 55 years, most of them at his shop on West Main St. in Brevard.  His shop was a hub of civic activity where patrons could play checkers, exchange news and opinions, or debate local issues.  For many years Smith also had a department for women to get haircuts. 

In 1957 J.S. Simms and Mitchell Crawford opened their West Main Barber Shop in Smith’s former location.  Over the years a number of barbers worked in the West Main Barber Shop but by 1970 it consisted of Simms, Crawford, Holland Talley, and J.A. Gray. 

Talley had worked for Smith and the Simpson Barber Shop before opening his own shop in 1948.  Both Simms and Crawford had worked for Talley before joining together to open West Main.  J.A. Gray had also worked for both Simpson’s and Smith’s and had even been partners with Smith for several years before opening his own barber shop in 1955.

The four longtime barbers and friends work together at West Main Barber Shop for several years.  In the late 1980s Randy Austin went to work at the barber shop.  Later Austin and his brother Ricky purchased the shop.  Mitchell Crawford continued to work part-time until about 2002.

Next week Picturing the Past will take a peek inside a few of Brevard’s early beauty shops.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information, comments or suggestions contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.

Gaither's Was Brevard's Longest Operating Restaurant

Since the early 1900s downtown Brevard has been home to numerous cafes and restaurants.  The earliest mention of a local restaurant found in the Sylvan Valley News is for Jim Aiken’s Restaurant and Bakery.  Aiken was a prominent African-American businessman with a general store on Main St. in Brevard.  In 1903 Aiken added on to his store and began serving lunch.  It apparently was particularly popular during court week.

Other early restaurant operators included A.B. Benjamin, G.F. Chapel, Ed Flack, Chester Gallamore, and Spurgeon Osborne.  Osborne owned the Royal Lunch Room which later became the Royal Café operated by H.C. Aiken.

Jimmy Gaither, second from left, and his staff at his Broad St. restaurant in 1951.
Berry Gaither is on the far right.

By mid-century dining options included the Casino Grill and Billiard Parlor on N. Caldwell, the Chicken Kitchen on N. Broad, the Coffee Shop and Stroller’s Inn on E. Main, and Galloway’s and Gaither’s on S. Broad.

Gaither’s was by far the longest operating of Brevard’s downtown restaurants.  Jimmy Gaither had been in the food service business in Statesville, Franklin, and Sylva.  When Ecusta opened he saw an opportunity and opened the first “modern” restaurant in Brevard in 1940.  It grew to include cafeteria-style service on the main level with banquet space in the Rhododendron and Dogwood Rooms on the second floor.   Gaither also operated a food service for Brevard College for a couple of years and for Brevard Music Center for several years.  He ran the Toxaway House at Lake Toxaway in the 1960s.  In addition he operated a burger place, provided food service at the bowling alley and owned a miniature golf course.  Gaither’s downtown location closed in 1977.

Berry Gaither at Berry's Restaurant on the Asheville Highway.

Berry Gaither and a cook in the kitchen at Berry's.

Berry’s Restaurant on the Asheville Highway, where Wendy’s is today, was owned and operated by Jimmy Gaither’s brother Berry.  The brothers had worked together until Berry decided to open his own place on the new four-lane highway on the outskirts of Brevard in 1959.  For many years the restaurant was open from 5:00 am until 1:00 am to feed Ecusta shift workers.  After Berry’s death in 1978 his son Rodney ran the restaurant and they began closing at 10:00 pm.  Berry’s closed in 1994.

Picturing the Past will continue looking inside more former businesses next week.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information, comments or suggestions contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.

Drug Stores Offered Wide Variety of Services

In the early to mid-1900s small towns often had two or three drug stores.  They offered medication prepared by a pharmacist and first aid supplies.  Sundry items including books, magazines, school or office supplies, stationary, toiletries, personal care items, and much more were also available.

In additional drug stores often had a soda fountain and lunch counter.  They served soda, ice cream, and light meals.  This was a wonderful place to gather, socialize, and share the news of the day.  By mid-century juke boxes near the soda fountain played popular music.  This offered a popular after school hangout spot.

A early photograph of the interior of either Duckworth's or Long's drug store.

In Brevard J.W. Nichols, T.B. Allison, J.B. Pickelsimer, and S. M. Macfie were among the earliest druggist who operated drug store between 1900-1910.  Allison and Nichols had soda fountains in their stores.  A 1905 Sylvan Valley News advertisement ran by Nichols states, “My fresh, pure, all fruit syrups, sparkling, cool soda water, superior ice creams and ices are fit to quench the thirst of a monarch.” 

Other early drug stores included Duckworth’s, Davis-Walker Drug Company, Davis-Long Drug Company, and a Rosman drug store operated by R.S. Morgan.  In 1926 the Davis-Long drug store announced that they were installing a new modern Bishop & Babcock soda fountain with Lippman refrigeration.

Brevard Drug, 1941.

By mid-century Brevard had three drug stores.  Macfie’s in the McMinn Building and Long’s directly across Main St.  Varner’s Walgreen store was one block south on Broad St.  In 1957 Morris Pharmacy opened in the former Long’s drug store which had closed a couple of years earlier.  Macfie’s operated until about 1969 when it became Brevard Pharmacy.  Varner’s remained open into the 1990s as a drug store.  The former soda fountain and lunch counter are still operating today as a reminder of bygone days.

Soda jerks at Varner's, 1951.

Over the next few weeks Picturing the Past will look inside some of Transylvania’s other past businesses.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information, comments or suggestions contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.

Beulah May Zachary Worked in Early TV

Girl Scouts planting a tree near the school on South Broad Street in 1925.
Beulah May Zachary is 8th from the left.

Beulah May Zachary was born in Brevard to Beulah McMinn and Woodford William Zachary on August 13, 1911.  She was the youngest of four children and her father died when she was just over two years old.  Her father had been an attorney, had served one term in the state legislature and was chairman of the Board of Education.  Her maternal grandfather, Nathan McMinn, was a leader in the development of Brevard.

As a child Miss Zachary attended Brevard Institute and Brevard High, graduating in 1928.  Miss Zachary continued her education at Salem College where she was very active as a cheerleader, member of the debate society, and student council.  She directed the senior play and was editor-in-chief of the yearbook.  As a member of the Class of 1932 Beulah Zachary was voted “most intelligent.”

Beulah May Zachary, 2nd row, 2nd from right was a member of the
1928 BHS girls' basketball team that won
the Western North Carolina Championship/

After graduation Miss Zachary returned to Brevard where she taught school for a few years.  It was at this time that she organized and directed the first Brevard Little Theater.  Beulah May Zachary was destine for a bigger stage though.  She moved to New York City and worked as a production manager on Broadway. 

In 1939 Miss Zachary began working in the relatively new entertainment field of television.  As the producer-director of RCA-Victor’s “Kukla, Fran and Ollie” she was a leading women in television.  She was also a successful business woman.

Miss Zachary, along with other family members, started an organ fund at the Brevard Methodist Church in honor of her mother, Beulah McMinn Zachary.  Mrs. Zachary was able to attend the dedication service but passed away on April 4, 1958.  Miss Zachary’s will dated April 28, 1958 included funds “to the Brevard Methodist Church for the care, maintenance, upkeep, use, and improvement of the Beulah McMinn Zachary Memorial Organ.”

Less than a year later Beulah May Zachary died when American Airlines Flight 320 crashed into New York’s East River on February 3, 1959.  Her family and the Brevard Methodist Church set up a fund in her memory for organ recitals and other music programs.  Beulah May Zachary is remembered in Brevard for her contributions to performing arts through First United Methodist Church, Brevard College, and the Brevard Little Theater.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information, comments or suggestions contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.